Well, I spoke too soon yesterday and as it turns out, my blog posted twice to my subscribers. For that I’m sorry, but it did give you two reasons to click on my recipe yesterday, and cook up that delicious Pork Sugo, didn’t it?? So, here it goes and let’s hope you don’t get two of these today. I’m in the mood to talk rhubarb, and if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you saw my plant growing so gorgeously in my yard, and ripe for the cutting. Rhubarb is one of those things that people love or hate, and I happen to be a lover, but not everyone in my household is on the same page about it, so I baked a few recipes with this fancy vegetable (yes, it’s a vegetable), and this one I think was the best of the three, although my husband did enjoy the second recipe as well, so I might redo it for picture’s sake, and post it in a few days.
Bar cookies are one of the most favorite treats, right next to chocolate chip cookies, because they are layered with a crust and top that’s usually so buttery good. The filling in this bar recipe is cooked down rhubarb, wow what a shock, and a little raspberry preserves. The combination of berries and rhubarb are just classic and some of you even said you were waiting for a strawberry-rhubarb pie recipe, when you saw my fresh rhubarb growing on social media. I do love a good pie too, but I thought I would make something easier, something portable to take to the beach or park, and something so scrumptious that you couldn’t pass up making it.
These bars are definitely it, even if you don’t like rhubarb, because I cooked it down in a sugar syrup and it’s consistency changed from a celery-like texture to a jam-like spread that fills these bars like no other. The rhubarb becomes fruity, aromatic and most people will probably think it’s an all berry filling, but a true lover of rhubarb knows it’s in there. So, enjoy this rhubarb treat and never tell a non-rhubarb person that’s what they’re eating.
Ingredients
Crust & Crumb
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons butter, cold diced
Filling
2 long rhubarb stalks, diced
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup raspberry preserves or jam
pinch of salt
(Makes 12-16 bars)
To Prepare:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pan with cooking spray or oil, set aside.
- On the stove top in a saucepan, add rhubarb, sugar and 1 cup water. Boil for 10-12 minutes, until rhubarb becomes soft and water is mostly absorbed. Remove from heat and let cool in a bowl.
- In a stand mixer, add flour, sugars, salt and baking soda, whisk. Add diced butter, and mix until coarse crumbs. Pour 2/3 of crumb mixture into prepared pan and press until flat and even around bottom of pan.
- Add raspberry preserves and salt to warm rhubarb and stir. Add remaining crumbs over top of filling by squeezing into clumps as you sprinkle over top.
- Bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove and let cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!
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